


The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

by keenwonderlandcollector



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Christmas Starker, M/M, Starker, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:54:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27607946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keenwonderlandcollector/pseuds/keenwonderlandcollector
Summary: Peter is thrilled to become an intern at SI, and loves working at the company. Then, the Christmas party rolls around and he's in for a night he'll never forget.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 143





	The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starkerswonderland](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkerswonderland/gifts).



> So my lovely darling @starkerswonderland (I encourage you to go and check our her work, she’s a supremely talented writer and a gift to the Starker community and the world at large ❤️) sent me a request for this story, I loved writing it and I hope you enjoy it 🥰🥰

It was a literal dream come true for Peter to wake up every morning and know that he would be spending the day at Stark Tower, working with some of the greatest minds in the country and getting to have access to incredible technology, never mind being able to actually work on it (though, his _actual_ dreams tended to involve a certain CEO being in much closer physical contact).

The internship had come along at the perfect time. After graduating from college in June, Peter had been thoroughly disheartened to learn that his application for the internship at SI hadn’t been successful, though the letter sent to him had informed him that he was being placed on an alternates list as they were still very impressed with his application. 

He’d assumed it was just their way of being polite, and had tucked the letter away in his desk to try and avoid his disappointment. Peter had always dreamed of working at SI, and felt confident that he was good enough, but maybe some things just aren’t meant to be.

So, he took a stable, reliable, thoroughly boring job as a processor at a pharmaceutical plant, sitting at a desk all day. He found the work easy, spending most of the day texting MJ and Ned, both of him had found greater success than himself with their own post-college careers. Ned had been snapped up by a huge Silicon Valley company, and MJ was currently somewhere in Europe, insisting on making Peter incredibly jealous with her amazing photos.

She’d offered for him to come with her, but he’d been so confident that internship was in the bag that he’d stubbornly refused, and now found himself reaping the karmic retribution. 

Months passed, with Peter’s job satisfaction rate steadily declining. He was easily the youngest person in the office by twenty five years, and was seriously being called ‘kid’ and having people snap their fingers at him like he was an idiot. 

So, when he was scrolling through his phone one particularly soul-crushing November Thursday morning and an email popped up from ‘[ pepperpotts@starkindustries.com ](mailto:pepperpotts@starkindustries.com)’ he felt like he might actually burst with excitement. 

It turned out that they hadn’t just been being polite, and as a couple of the current candidates had left the internship, they were hoping that Peter would accept their invitation to come on board.

He didn’t need to be asked twice, practically skipping into the manager’s office to quit.

-

Even after almost six weeks, Peter was still excited about getting up and going to work. He loved that the dress code was very much casual, allowing him to wear his jeans and pun t-shirts that proved very popular with some of the other interns, who were all soon fast friends of the brunette. Shuri in particular, a beautiful girl with a wicked sense of humour and more intelligence in her little finger than anyone Peter had ever known, had quickly become one of Peter’s closest friends. 

They’d met when Peter had first started, being assigned to the Research & Development taskforce (and almost having a heart attack on the spot, unable to believe it was really happening) and working with her on a prototype for a new type of water-powered engine. 

Peter had immediately been impressed by how smart, funny and friendly she was, and the fact that she could match him when it came to dropping movie references, vines and memes into any conversation just cemented his love for her. 

But if there was anything that really made Peter fall in love with his new job it was Tony Stark.

For years Peter had seen the man on TV, in magazines, in countless articles about his professional and personal life, and was utterly fascinated by him. 

The first time they’d met Peter had been utterly star-struck, barely able to string together a coherent sentence (much to Shuri’s amusement). Was it his fault that he also, maybe, happened to have a major, all consuming crush on the man?

After their first meeting, Tony often dropped in to check how they were doing, giving little notes and making stupid (hilarious) jokes, looking at Peter in a way that made him want to melt into a puddle on the pristine floor. 

Tony Stark was a flirt, everyone knew that. Peter refused to think for a minute it meant anything if Tony winked at him, or placed his hand on the brunette’s shoulder as he explained something to him, or made Peter feel like he was the only person in the entire universe that mattered.

It wasn’t as if anything would ever come of it, Peter was a twenty-one year old intern living in a shoebox apartment with broken radiators and a ridiculously lazy cat, Tony Stark was a gorgeous billionaire who could snap his fingers and have the world come running to bow down before him.

It didn’t mean, though, that Peter couldn’t..fantasize, a little bit.

Particularly when he was in a literal ballroom, intricate chandeliers casting a soft light around the room, flowers everywhere, music playing softly, and Tony looking so handsome in his perfectly pressed navy suit it made Peter want to cry.

He’d never been to a company Christmas party before, but he knew most of them weren’t as extravagant and luxurious as the one he was attending. The company had taken over the entire hotel, elegant gold and red balloons with ‘SI’ carefully placed throughout the various beautiful, sprawling rooms. 

Everyone looked so different to how they usually did, gone were the jeans, t-shirts, hoodies and sneakers, all replaced with elegant suits, perfectly polished shoes, beautiful dresses and killer heels. 

Peter himself had decided to go all out, after all all, it wasn’t every day he went to an illustrious event, and he wanted to make an effort. He had some money saved up from various part-time jobs throughout college, and treated himself to a deep maroon suit, it wasn’t quite designer but he thought he looked pretty good. He’d bought some fancy hair product, taking an half hour after he’d showered to tame his hair into submission, spraying on some aftershave and getting himself ready.

Shuri had dropped by Peter’s so they could go to the party together, and Peter was amazed by how different she looked. She always dressed nicely for work, but still quite casual, so to see her in a deep red silk off-the-shoulder dress flowing down and swaying elegantly above her ankles, showing off killer gold heels, her braids flowing down her back, was a sight to behold.

Once they’d finished gushing over each other’s new looks, they hailed a cab and headed off into the night, excitement bubbling around them.

The night was better than Peter had had in a very long time. Everything from the food (chocolate fountains were now on Peter’s list for his dream kitchen) to the copious amounts of expensive champagne (Peter wasn’t much of a drinker, but free champagne was hard to refuse) and the music was better than he could ever have imagined. 

Tony gave a speech, though Peter missed most of what he said as he was too busy listening to his own heartbeat in his ears, particularly when the older man caught his eye and gave him a sly wink.

Later in the evening, the orchestral sounds gave way to some more classic Christmas music, with Peter and Shuri (and a bottle of champagne they’d sneaked) hit the dancefloor, giggling and spinning each other around, having the time of their lives. 

At some point, they became separated, and Peter was too far gone to worry, continuing to dance like nobody was watching, losing any self consciousness as he swayed along to the music. It was only when he felt strong hands on his hips that he tensed, slowly turning around and finding none other than Tony Stark standing behind him, an easy smile on his face.

“Oh,” Peter managed, the colour of his suit flowing onto his face. “hi, sir.”

Tony, please.” The older man waved a hand, tilting his head slightly. “I hate to interrupt you but I was wondering if you could spare a dance for your boss?”

“Of course,” Peter nodded, a disappointment setting into him as he realised he’d wake up any minute, back in his cold bedroom, lamenting waking up. “if you want.”

“Very much so.” The older man winked, offering his arm.

-

If it was a dream, Peter decided, he was determined to keep having it. He wasn’t sure how he managed to get past his nerves enough to go from awkwardly shuffling in Tony’s arm to full on swaying against the man, resting his head on the older man’s shoulders as Tony’s strong hands gripped his waist, but he was pretty sure the champagne had something to do with it.

At some point they were sitting at a table, Tony’s arm resting on the back of Peter’s chair as the younger man talked animatedly about his various ideas for projects, the alcohol giving him a confidence he’d never been able to possess before, certainly not in Tony’s presence. 

It was the most amazing feeling in the world, listening to Tony Stark casually talking about his latest plans for the company while softly running his hand along Peter’s thigh, the younger man just about managing to keep his composure and luge forward into Tony’s lap.

The night was perfect, and Peter never wanted it to end.

-

The sunlight easing into the room was warm and enticing, drawing Peter from a deep sleep. There was a shooting pain in his head, a tenderness pervading his entire body as he slowly eased himself up. The sheets under him were soft and silky, and probably should have been his first indication that he wasn’t at home.

But other things prevailed, such as the need to curl up in a ball and sleep, the hangover well and truly digging its claws into him. Slowly, blinking awake, Peter rubbed his eyes, taking in the sight around him.

It was a bedroom, a very nice one at that, but not his own. 

For one, this bedroom was at least twice the size of his living room, and the bed he was currently in was about the same size as his bathroom. The decor was simple but modern, with dark blue walls surrounding him. A slight panic managed to break through the hangover fog, particularly when he looked down and realised that he wasn’t wearing his suit anymore.

He saw it, alright, hanging up on the closet door, looking as though it had been cleaned and ironed. He couldn’t get up to investigate anything, not when he had nothing to cover himself with. He could always use the blanket, he thought, sitting up and beginning to drape it around his waist as light trickled in from the door, drawing the brunette’s attention.

“Ah, you’re up.”

Oh god. He couldn’t have, there was no way. He hadn’t..thrown himself at Tony Stark? 

“I’m so sorry,” Peter began, suddenly wide awake. “I don’t know what happened but I apologise if I’ve-”

“Hey,” Tony smiled gently, walking over and sitting down on the bed. God, even in sweatpants and a hoodie the man looked ridiculously handsome. “you didn’t do anything wrong. You went a little over your limit last night and since I wasn’t sure where you live I took you back here so you could sleep it off.”

“But I’m..” Peter blushed, awkwardly gestring to himself as Toy raised an eyebrow, letting out a soft, melodic laugh. 

“That’s because you uh..” Tony lightly scratched his neck, looking over at the younger man. “decided to give me an impromptu striptease,”

Let the ground open up and swallow Peter now, he couldn’t sink any lower. 

“you got about halfway through before passing out. It wasn’t the worst I’ve ever seen.” Tony laughed, Peter groaning as he buried his head in his hands.

“We’ve all been there, Peter. God knows I have, and much worse than that,” Tony gently reached over and touched his arm, sending shivers down Peter’s spine as he rested his hands in his lap, looking over at Tony. “if anything I was flattered.”

“I’m sorry I made myself such a burden, I should be going.” Peter insisted, wanting to go home, go to bed and never face the world again.

“Well you’re free to leave, of course,” Tony smiled softly, running a hand through his hair. “but..I’d like it if you stayed. I can’t cook but I can whip up a decent coffee.” 

This was definitely a dream, there was no way it could be real, Peter thought. Tony hardly..

“And then maybe we can start over,” Tony grinned, gently touching Peter’s leg through the blanket. “it’s not every day I have someone so beautiful in my bed, forgive me if I want to keep you here.”

“Oh..uh, okay,” Peter swallowed thickly, smiling as he nodded. “if you don’t mind.”

“Never,” Tony winked, gently squeezing Peter’s leg before standing up. “alright, let me get you that coffee, gorgeous.”


End file.
